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HOW IT STARTED
Some years ago, I observed Chinese children doing mathematics.
They were working extremely quickly from sums presented on
a blackboard by their master. I was intrigued by the speed
at which they were able to answer the sums presented to them.
The article I was watching was on the television. We were
quickly shown the reason for those children being so quick
to answer. They were using the Chinese abacus. The television
article then showed the children answering just as quickly,
without the use of the abacus. This made me fully aware that
they were using mathematical knowledge based on their visual
concept of the abacus and their past ability and processing
of maths carried out on the abacus.
Seven
years thinking about thinking
The essence of education
The central purpose of education is to allow us to understand
the world we live-in and to think about our personal and collective
actions in order to enhance them
Noam Chomsky the American linguist makes the point that a
human being with the capacity of a limited number of words
can produce and regularly clearly do so, an unlimited number
of sentences.
I believe that the human ability of speech is mans best demonstration
of intelligence, words are assembled and spoken as quickly
as ideas are conceived, no sooner we are aware of an idea
within our brain then we can have spoken it, we think at the
speed of light and obviously speak at the speed of sound,
you can work out the difference for yourself.
Marie Montessori, the mother of intelligent education, harnessed
the inbuilt ability of children to learn by watching,
seeing and doing.
I believe you taught your child to speak, the miracle of
the ability to speak was leant naturally, it was so easy for
you, and you did not even realize that you were doing it.
So giving rise to my statement " the imperceptible learning
process" we have only three gears, learning, thinking,
teaching.
We are either listening and seeing, which is the learning
gear, or we are talking which is the teaching gear, or we
are thinking, however unintelligent we may consider ourselves
to be unless we are speaking or learning we are thinking.
I prove this to you, simply by telling you to consider what
is happening to you when you are asleep, your body is resting
and your thinking ability is in freewheel, yes you are dreaming.
I dream of a better world, that is the exciting thing about
education.
Children can teach children, one-to-one teaching and learning
is the basis of our CIVILIZATION
John Dixon Brearey Nicholson.
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THE ABSORBENT MIND
And if education is ALWAYS to be conceived
along the same antiquated lines of a mere transmission
of knowledge, there is little to be hoped from it in
the bettering of man's future.
For what is the use of transmitting
knowledge if the individuals total development lags
behind
Maria Montessori
"The mind once expanded to the
dimensions of larger ideas never returns to its original
size."
Atrib.
Oliver Wendell Holmes
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